The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-29
FACTS About the Negro vote.


The Republican papers so persistently as
sert that the negro vote in the South is sup
pressed, that it is probable that a very large
percentage of the Northern people has an
impression that it is. The Democratic
papers of the North, however, are begin
ming to discuss the subject, and the facts
which they presenG viii remove the false
impression.
The Record, of Philadelphia, takes up
Mr. Murat Halsteads article in the Deem
Der Forum and shows from the figures
therein presented that the charges that the
negro vote in the South is suppressed is
without foundation. Mr. Halstead is one Of
the bitterest of the Republican leaders, and
acts upon the theory that in political con-
test a falsehood persistently reiterated is
about as effective as a well-established fact.
1t is certain that he does not search very
earnestly for the truth. What he wants is
something that will serve his purpose, and
when he thinks he has found it he does not
make any investigation of it for fear that
it will prove to have no foundation in truth.
In his Forum article Mr. Hastead gives
the negro vote of the Southern States from
reconstruction days, and shows that there
has been g steady decrease in it, In South
Carolina, for instance, the vote for Hancock
in 1880 was liz ,312, and for Garfield 5s,07l.
In 1884 the vote for Cleveland was 69,S45,
and for Blaine 81, 1888.
These figures show an extraordinary de-
crease in the negro vote in four years, but
is not the decrease in the white vote also
extraordinary The decrease in the negro
vote was little greater than that in the
white but it is evident that the difference
was not due to suppression. If there had
been an organized and determined effort to
keep tie negroes away from the polls the
white vote would have been much larger,
or if the ballot boxes had been tempered
with such difference between the Demo
cratic and Republican vote would not have
been permitted. The returns clearly indi-
cate that if there we're not a free ballot and
fair count there was suppression of the
white as well as of the black vote
As matter of fact all voted who desired
to, and all the ballots cast were counted.
The falling off in the black as well as the
white vote was due to indifference. In the
last Congressional elections in this State the
vote was an extremely light one There
were no Republican candidates and there
was no doubt that the Democratic candi-
dates would be elected. Only few of the
voters, therefore, took the time and trouble
to vote.
Unless Mr. Halstead and the Republican
papers can explain the decrease in the white
vote in the South they will be unable to
make the country believe that the black
vote is suppressed because it is
not as large as it was when the carpet-bag
leaders dragged up to the polls
every negro voter that could be found If
the Republican party were to send agents
to the South with plenty of money, the ne
gro vote might be greatly increased, hut it
will never again be as large for the Repub-
hcan party as it once was for tn, reason
that very considerable percentage of the
negroes has Joined the Democratic party,
and very large percentage of them has be-
come Indifferent about voting. They do
not admire the Republican party as much
as they once did